Quarterback-maiming men top Blue Bombers’ list

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2015 (3819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After an extraordinarily busy free-agent buying spree, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head into Florida this weekend for their annual spring mini-training camp a lot further ahead than they were at this time last year.

The Bombers have a much deeper roster and a lot more positions already settled heading into this year’s camp than they did last year. But there still are some big holes in the lineup the club is hoping to fill with some of the 50 or so rookie prospects they will audition for three days at the IMG Football Academy in Bradenton beginning Sunday.

Here’s a look at some of the holes the Bombers need to fill in Florida:

 

Linebacker

Ian Wild and Johnny Sears anchored two of the three linebacker spots for much of last season but Wild has gone to the NFL and Sears is hoping to do the same. Sears might yet be back in Blue and Gold in 2015 — he hasn’t signed with anyone down south yet and his time is running out — and the Bombers think non-import free-agent acquisition Sam Hurl might be the ratio-changer in the middle they haven’t had since Henoc Muamba headed south after the 2013 season.

Still, you don’t win games in the CFL on “hopes” and “mights” and the Bombers need to find at least a couple of live linebackers in Florida they can bring to main camp in June and challenge for starting jobs. Bombers GM Kyle Walters said Friday linebacker is his “highest priority” heading into Florida.

 

Defensive line

The Bombers defence gave up the most rushing yards of any team in the CFL in 2014 and recorded the second-fewest sacks. That suggests some gaping holes on the front-four, but the Bombers are hoping a new scheme under new defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall, plus a healthy Zach Anderson in 2015 and some promising late additions from 2014 such as Deantre Harlan, could make up much of the difference. Still, the club has yet to find a dominating rush end to fill the hole left left by the departure of Alex Hall in 2013 — and Odell Willis before him — and there will be more than a few in Florida auditioning for the job of designated quarterback maimer.

 

Running back

The Bombers went through a couple of tailbacks last season, with Paris Cotton taking over the starting job from Nic Grigsby by season’s end. The Bombers brain trust liked what Cotton showed at the end of the year, but this is also a spot where they would love to upgrade, particularly if they can find someone a bit bigger than Cotton and more along the lines of the power-backs such as Jon Cornish, who seem to thrive in the West Division.

 

Receiver

Clarence Denmark and Nick Moore will be the import receivers this year and the club hopes non-imports Rory Kohlert and Julian Feoli-Gudino can build on respectable 2014 campaigns to become the two starting Canadian receivers this team needs to make their ratio work. But that still leaves at least one import wideout position wide open and the Bombers will have plenty of bodies in Florida auditioning for that spot.